The District absolutely and unequivocally does not utilize an individualâs national origin in making its enrollment decisions.

FORT PAYNE, Alabama - The Fort Payne City School District issued a statement today saying a 17-year-old student was admitted to school after two delays because he finally supplied required documentation and not because the Southern Poverty Law Center claimed the school system was practicing "discriminatory enrollment."

The student, known as J.T., was admitted to Fort Payne High School on April 10 after twice being denied admission. The SPLC alleged the denials to start school were made because the student was Latino. J.T. was born in Mexico and came to the United States when he was a year old, the center said. The prospective student brought a completed enrollment application, proof of residency in the district, an immunization record and a Social Security card to school to enroll. The center said the documents were not reviewed and the student was denied enrollment after he said he had to make up two failed classes from the previous year. The SPLC claimed discrimination.

However, according to the Fort Payne school system, 217 of the system's 797 students are classified as Hispanic.

Jim Cunningham, superintendent of Fort Payne City Schools, said he enrolled J.T. as soon as he satisfied enrollment requirements. "The District absolutely and unequivocally does not utilize an individual's national origin in making its enrollment decisions," Cunningham said.

"At the time of J.T.'s initial application, the District's enrollment requirements applicable to an individual past the mandatory age of public school attendance had not been satisfied by J.T. and his family," Cunningham said. "As soon as these enrollment requirements were later satisfied, the Fort Payne City School District acted with haste to facilitate J.T.'s enrollment, as it would do with any student seeking enrollment."

Cunningham also responded to the SPLC's criticism of the school system's practice of requesting a student's Social Security number when available.

Cunningham clarified the enrollment application has always stated that enrollment will not be denied to students classified as homeless, having limited English proficiency, or who are immigrants or migrants because they do not have documents such as Social Security cards.

To make the point clear, the school system added a statement to its current enrollment application stating: "The disclosure of a Social Security number is voluntary; it will be used for confidential student identification. If you choose not to provide the Social Security number, student enrollment will not be denied."

Cunningham said it was not the allegations of the SPLC that led to J.T.'s enrollment but the correct documentation supplied by J.T. to satisfy enrollment requirements. The requirements were in no way waived or altered due to SPLC's involvement, he said.

Cunningham added, "The SPLC's tactics and allegations in this matter were false and disappointing."